Co-Imagining the Future of Playable Cities
Ferran Altarriba Bertran, Laura Bisbe Armengol, Cameron Cooke, Ivy Chen, Victor Dong, Binaisha Dastoor, Kelsea Tadano, Fyez Dean, Jessalyn Wang, Adrià Altarriba Bertran, Jared Duval, Katherine Isbister
Abstract
Here we present a co-design exploration into the potential of technology to playfully re-signify urban spaces. We created a speculative catalog of urban tech and used it to facilitate multi-stakeholder discussions about the playful potential of smart cities. The learnings from our co-design engagements embody different people's ideas of how tech might and might not support rich forms of urban play, and contribute to ongoing efforts at exploring how to playfully reconfigure our cities. We present: (1) a list of inspirational play potentials of urban spaces—i.e. playful things already people do, and enjoy, in the public space; (2) a portfolio of speculative ideas that show how tech might help to realize that potential; and (3) a discussion of stakeholders’ responses to these ideas. Our work can provide designers with inspiration and actionable advice for cultivating forms of urban play that cater to people's socio-emotional needs.